


Keep on Fighting

by AshesFal13



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Dean Winchester, Angel Sam Winchester, Angels as Humans (Supernatural), F/M, Family Bonding, Family Secrets, Human Balthazar (Supernatural), Human Castiel (Supernatural), Human Gabriel (Supernatural), Human Lucifer (Supernatural), Human Michael, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:54:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26351494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshesFal13/pseuds/AshesFal13
Summary: As far as hunters go, the Novak family are best and brightest. In fact, they're the oldest of all the ancient hunting families. For longer than some of the things they hunt, their family has been protecting the world from all that goes bump in the night. Now it's Gabriel, Castiel, and Hazel's (OC) turn. With their father gone and siblings fighting they're forced to take up the mantel themselves to the best of their abilities. Of course, that's easier said than done. Ill forces are circling them, drawing them into something they don't understand. Something that could end the world and everything good. With this huge risk on their shoulders all they can turn to is two angels hell bent on helping them stop it, and hope they can manage.
Relationships: Sam Winchester/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

_ Always and forever.  _

Whispers flitted across the consciousness like a soft breeze as the babe cried.

_ Always and forever. _

A mantra filling the air with a chilly finality even as his family celebrated.

_ Always and forever. _

A promise. A curse. One that should never have been thrust upon so one so innocent. So young.

“Destiny cannot be changed.” A voice echoed his thoughts, dark wings flashing in the starlight. “But it doesn’t always end as bad as we think.”

“You may be right sister, but it would take a miracle to fix this. Too many forces work againt him.” White wings ruffled in agitation. “How can we save him…..any of them from this?”

“We stop them then.” Her voice whispered, “We work against those that who work against them.”

“They’re know if we do. They’ll stop us.”

“Then we stay hidden. Working from the shadows just like they are. But deeper. Deep enough that we become nothing more than a memory.”

He nodded, white wings taking him closer to peer into the little house before them. Piercing blue eyes met his own, cooing softly. This was their hope. Or ruin. Wrapped amongst blankets, nestled in his mother’s arms. Oblivious to the trials that would one day be on his shoulders.

______________

“He’s so little.” Hazel softly said as she looked down at her new little brother in their mother’s arms. Hesitantly she reached out, letting him grab her finder. “Hi Castiel.”

“No fair,” Luke’s voice whined from the doorway, “why does she get to go first?”

“Gabe and Hazel first.” Their father called from the hall as he moved to join them, setting down down Gabriel so he could run to his twin’s side. “Both you and Michael have had a chance to meet a new sibling before.”

“Of course father.” Michael said, smirking at Luke.

“You wanted in first too.” Luke snapped back, “You’re the one who pushed Gabriel down.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did not.”

“Enough.” Their father didn’t raise his voice, but it filled the room and made them bother freeze. He placed a hand on each of their shoulders and squeezed slightly in warning. “Stop fighting or you won’t be allowed in at all.”

“Yes sir.” They both chimed, throwing each other dirty looks, but neither said another word.

“Hiya Cassie.” Gabriel said with a smile as he moved next to his twin, “I’m Gabriel. The best of all your brothers. When you grow up we’ll have a lot of fun eating candy and pranking everyone.”

“Gabriel.” Their mother warned, but he just gave her and innocent smile and reached out to let Castiel take his finger as well.

Smiling at the image of the twins on either side of her little boy, their mother leaned forward and whispered to them. “You’ll always protect him won’t you two? That’s what big siblings do. Right?”  
Hazel nodded solemnly, her eyes never leaving Castiel’s. Gabriel nodded, beaming proudly and puffing out his chest like only a three year-old could. “Of course. We’ll be the be the best big siblings ever!”


	2. Finding Cass

“I’d say that we’re the worst big siblings ever, but you’re the one who managed to loose him!” Gabriel shouted, glaring at Michael across the room. His grip tightened on the gun in his hand and they both tensed. “What in the hell made you think that sending him out on his own was a good idea?”

“There’s no need to take that tone with me.” Michael’s voice was infuriatingly calm as he flipped through their Dad’s journal. Looking for information on what they could be up against. “He’s a hunter. It’s what we were raised to be. With all the training he’s gotten he can handle anything.” 

“A hunter? He’s barely old enough to buy booze! There is no way you should have let him go off to check things out without backup. Especially on a hunt you know barely anything about.” Gabriel started pacing now, throwing all sorts of nasty looks at their elder brother as Hazel stood behind him. “We would have never let this happen.”

“Says the ones who walked out 4 years ago and haven’t come back.” Michael shot back with a glare, “Maybe if you had been here this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Us? You’re putting the blame on us?” Gabriel snarled the words, actively raising his gun only to be stopped by his twin’s gentle grip on his wrist. “Maybe if you and Luke hadn’t become the biggest bags of dicks ever we would’ve stuck around.”

“Enough.” Hazel spoke up finally, voice like ice as she glared between them. “Fighting is not going to solve this. Castiel is more important than digging up old dirt. Right now, we should be focusing on finding him. Family over pride.”

“Of course.” Michael said, a bitter look on his face that Gabriel assumed was from being reminded of his duty by his younger sibling. Gabriel nodded as well, letting her continue and focusing on calming himself down.

“Now, Michael. What was the info you got that made you think this was our kinda thing? Beside the idea of ‘disappearances’ from within a locked house? And what exactly happened before you called us.”

“There was reports of lighting troubles. Contractors have been out to the house 6 times in the last 3 months. All for flickering lights.” Michael explained. “Assuming it was some sort of ghost, I came out with Castiel to take care of it. I stayed back for research and he went to check out the house. He never came back.”

“Which is when you called us.” Hazel filled in. “So he’s been missing for a day and a half.” Michael nodded, “And the bodies of the victims appear after a week of being missing, correct?”

Michael nodded again, “There’s no wounds on the bodies, no discernible cause of death.”

“Other than the supernatural?” Gabriel said, taking the cheap shot and ignoring the glare Hazel sent his way. She disapproved. She always disapproved when he snuck in jabs during work.  _ Spoilsport. _

_ Immature. _ She snapped back over their bond even as she continued to listen to Michael drone on about details they had already heard on the drive over.  _ Focus. Finding Cass is more important that putting Mike in his place. Whether he deserves it or not. _

_ I know that. But talking this over again isn’t helping. He’s going into lecture mode and we’ll be here for the next two weeks. That’ll wreck any chance Cass has. _ Gabriel returned,  _ Let’s just ditch him and get this done on our own. _

_No._ _He’s already done most of the research. Why start from scratch and waste more time when we can get good intel from him?_

_ Because he’s a pratt. _

_ Pratt? You’ve been hanging around Balthazar too much again. _

_ Haven’t seen him since that ghoul case in New Orleans…during Mardi Gras. Still not sure how we managed to find and kill the thing. _

_ That’s because you and Balt were drunk off your asses. _ Hazel responded, tone disapproving but a smile on her face. Gabriel could feel the fondness at the good memory and knew she’d enjoyed their time there.

_ Of course I enjoyed it. It was Mardi Gras. In. New Orleans. _

“Can you two stop!” Michael cried out, drawing their attention back to him. “You’re the ones who were all upset with me for not focusing. And now you’re off in twin-verse, having your own secret conversations.” He scowled at them. “It’s so unnatural how in tune you two are sometimes.”

“Sorry Mike.” Hazel responded, her tone a little darker than it had been before. Gabriel could tell she didn’t appreciate his last comment and was trying to keep her own temper in check. “So you’ve found no recorded deaths in the house or on the land…..anything; no speculations or myths?”

“No. The only bit of any ‘dark’ history I can find is that this house used to be part of the underground railroad, but that wasn’t found out until a couple of years ago.” Michael explained with a shrug, “They were doing ground radar stuff for something and found tunnels that went pretty much across the property. They haven’t found an entrance yet however, and they don’t want to dig them out in case they’d collapse.”

Hazel looked thoughtful as Gabriel watched Mike continue to ramble on, and he tentatively reached out through there bond questioningly.

_ Tunnels. Adrenaline rushing. They need to hide. Can’t be spotted. Mustn’t be found. _ He let the trains of thought rush by him, not wanting to distract her. Instead he focused on her intent and found that something Mike had said had struck a chord with her. Something that could lead them to Cass.

“Michael, let me see dad’s journal.” Gabriel told him, cutting off the rambling of facts. “Hazel’s onto something.”

Michael frowned suspiciously and hesitantly passed over the book. “I want it back.”

“Of course.” Gabriel rolled his eyes as he opened the book. Flipping through the pages he found the spot on spirits and turned to hand the book to Hazel as her stream of thoughts slowed.  
“It’s hiding.” She said absentmindedly as she looked through the spirit pages slowly. “Cass must’ve figured it out. Which made it angry. It couldn’t have anyone finding anything. So it removed him.” She stopped on a page and tapped her finger against it and showed the others.

“A death echo?” Michael frowned, “It can’t be. Those don’t have enough juice to do this. And there have been no deaths that could create an echo anywhere around here.”

“Residual hauntings: Death Echos are formed from emotions, usually a passed spirit with regrets. They tend to take their dying form and act out the method of their death. The best method to deal with them is to burn the bodies. If that’s not possible, one can try and snap them out of it. To do this one usually needs to have a connection to the Echo, or a strong spiritual ability to communicate with the other side.” Gabriel read their father’s words, trusting that Hazel wouldn’t lead them astray. “However, I have recently found that they can also be formed from pure emotions. Enough of one, all focused on the same though reacts much like a tulpa, pulling into being a sentient form of emotions.

“So, emotions took Cass? How is that even possible?”

“Gabe, it’s the emotions of the railroad. All those people. They had to hide. Keep out of sight.” Hazel explained, nodding to Michael as understanding colored his features. “All of those who traveled through here had the exact same emotions. Connected to that single concept. Stay hidden. Mustn’t be seen.

“All of this created this….emotional being. It’s been here since it was formed. The same thoughts going through it. Then, suddenly, the thing that was supposed to be kept secret has been discovered. The tunnels were found and then people began to look for the entrances. Which it couldn’t have. After all. They’re supposed to stay hidden.”

“So it’s taking whoever finds them. Hiding them away until they die.” Michael added, “So that they can’t share what they’ve found.”

“Which means the cause of death was partially supernatural and partially exposure.” Hazel explained, “Which means if we can find the entrance….”

“We find Cassie.” Gabriel finished and smiled, “And according to Dad’s book. It’ll have to take a form which is immune to salt.” He glanced down. “And to kill it we just need to make it fail in it’s duty? So what? Break or burn down door to the tunnels”

Hazel noded and Gabriel returned the book to Michael. “So to end this mission all we need to is find Cass.” He grabbed his duffle and gave his signature trickster smile. “Let’s get going then. Lady Cassandra needs her knights.”

___________

Darkness. Endless darkness. It dominated his senses until it was all he knew. Gone was his name. His past. All there was, was darkness. Complete and utter darkness.

And himself. Suspended in this space. Not knowing anything. Encompassed completely.

It was peaceful. The darkness sheltering him from everything that could hurt him....although, he wasn’t sure what could hurt him. He couldn’t remember the...other. Whatever was...had been beyond this darkness.

There had been something before the darkness. He knew that. Knew it like he knew that there was nothing but darkness. That he was part of it, but not. That he had once existed outside of it, but no idea as to who he was.

Now it was just him. And the darkness. Forever.

.

.

.

.

Until it wasn’t. One moment (or maybe it was 100 moments. There was no time in the darkness) there was just him and the darkness, then there was….something else. A single word. Called over and over again.

_ Castiel. _

_ Castiel. _

_ Castiel. _

_ Castiel. _

_ Castiel. _

Not a word, something else.

_ Castiel. _

_ Castiel. _ _   
_ _ Castiel. _

A name. A word for which something is known by.

_ Castiel. _

_ Castiel. _

A proper noun for an object, animal, person. Special to them. Who they were.

_ Castiel. _

_ HIS name. _

Castiel focused on the voice, pulling himself from the darkness’ embrace. There was something familiar about the voice. An echo from some long forgotten dream. A dream he needed to remember.

_ Castiel. _

The voice said his name again, a sort whispered that caressed his ears. Calm despite it’s persistent calling.

_ Castiel. Come back. Awaken. _

At the last word, there was a sharp ringing that began and grew until it overwhelmed his unused senses. It broke through the darkness, tearing it apart with a light so bright it pushed past his awareness and he began to fall unconscious. A flash of green so pure it didn’t seem real the last thing he saw.

  
  
  


“Cass….Castiel?” A girls voice, full of a motherly concern and sorrow. A familiar voice he hadn’t expected to hear.

“Wake up moron.” A male’s voice this time. Accompanied by a rough shaking sensation. “Wake up dammit or I’m giving you a wet willy.”

“Gabriel.” The girls voice again, echoed by another male’s as well. It was a warning, telling Gabriel to stop. A warning that could only be delivered by one person without his brother snapping back. Hazel. Gabriel rarely snapped at his twin when she sounded this serious.

Slowly Castiel struggled to open his eyes, choking out their names with some effort. “Hazel? Gaberiel?”

“Yah, its’ us Cass.” Hazel answered, relief coloring her tone. Castiel could tell she was smiling despite not quiet being able to see her face as his eyes struggled to adjust.

“Mikey’s here too.” Gabriel chimed in, “Sadly.” 

Michael made an annoyed sound in protest to the comment and Hazel hushed them both. “No fighting.” She said, the harshness leaving her voice as she spoke to him again, “You alright Cass?”

“I….I do not know.” He answered honestly, blinking rapidly as the world came into focus. He was laying on the ground in what appeared to be in a tunnel like structure. Dirt ceiling and walls surrounding them. To his left was an opening that was letting in a healthy stream of daylight. Enough to light up the room, but not enough to blind him. A blessing in disguise since he knew how painful waking up as he had would have been with more light. “I do not feel any pain, but I am very tired. And am confused as to what happened.” He focused on her, meeting a pair of eyes that matched her name. They were filled with a warm concern that put what discomfort and panic he was feeling at rest.

“Long story.” Gabriel explained, drawing his attention. Gabriel was smiling that same trickster smile he always had on, eyes crinkling with relief and mischief. “Mikey here managed to lose you and called us in for support ‘cause he knows just how much he sucks.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, pointing out of the door into the light that Castiel’s eyes refused to focus on. “And now he’s waiting out there so his perfect highness doesn’t get dirty.”

“I am not!” Michael snapped out, not amused with their brother’s antics.

“Guys, stop it or I’m going to cast a conjoining spell on you two.” Hazel threatened, “You’ll be conjoined at the hand until you can get along, or I decide it no longer amuses me.”

“Yes  _ mom _ .”” Gabriel shot back, no heat in the snarky comeback. He shared a look with her that made Castiel smile.

“You two have not changed.” He choked out the words past dry lips and he slowly struggled to sit up. “It’s good to see you again.”

“You too Cass.” Hazel helped him up and reached behind her for a water bottle that Gabriel handed her without needing to be prompted. “Try to drink a little of this. Slowly ok?”

Castiel nodded, taking the bottle in a shaking hand and sipping at the cool water. It soothed his aching throat and he had to force himself to stop before drinking too much. “Thank you.”

“Of course. Once you feel up to it, we’ll move you out of here. Alright?”

Castiel nodded in answer to her question, then followed up with one of his own. “Where is this exactly? I am unable to recall exactly what happened before you woke me up here.”

“You were on a hunt. Trying to figure out what happened to a bunch of people who disappeared for a week and then were found dead on this old farmstead.” Gabriel explained with a flare that only belonged to him. One that Castiel had truly missed despite how much it would perplex him at times. “You must’ve been searching around when the big baddie decided to help you pull a houdini.”

“Pull a houdini?” Castiel asked, confused for a moment before it made sense. “Do you mean disappear?”

“Exactamundo.” Gabriel clapped as if congratulating him, “Turns out the big bad didn’t like you, or anyone else for that matter, snooping around and finding these secret tunnels. So it locked you in here to die of exposure….the exposed to the elements version, not the flashing your private bits around kind. Though, that’d be a lot more interesting. An ghost that could rip off or vanish your clothes with a snap.” He snapped for emphasis and grinned. “That’d be an awesome super power.”  
“Thank goodness it’s not real.” Hazel chuckled and pushed Gabriel playfully, “We’d have to keep you locked up or there’d be no one with clothes on at all.”

“Except for Mikey.” Gabriel replied, smirked over his shoulder towards the door where Castiel assume Michael must be waiting. “Who’d ever want to see that?”

“I assure you Gabriel, there are many who would.” Michael said with a sigh, “Though I’m not sure why we’re having this discussion now. We should focus on getting Castiel out of there to a place where he can recover more comfortably.”

“Right Mike. We know.” Hazel called back, frowning, “Just giving him a chance to collect himself. He’s been out for three days. It takes time to snap back from that.”

“Three days? I was out for three days?” Castiel asked, frowning. Something about that didn’t feel right. Faintly a flash of green light flashed across his mind as he searched through what broken memories he could recall. “I do not feel like I have been unconscious for three days.”

“You don’t look it either.” Gabriel told him, peering closer at Castiel curiously. “You’re bounding back rather quick too….but maybe the big bad took pity on it’s victims and stayed off some of the effects of exposure.”

Hazel shrugged, “Not sure. Doesn’t matter now. It’s gone and we have Cass back in one piece.”

  
  



	3. Back Together....Sort Of

Castiel let Gabriel and Michael help him into the motel room and over to the bed, ignoring the arguing going on between them. It was a soothing sound in the basic familiarity it provided. It was grounding, keeping him from falling back into that world of darkness. It reminded in the corners of his mind, pulling at him. Trying to draw him back. Back to that place where there was nothing. He was nothing. Nothing except alone.

The complete opposite of what he had now. Now he had three of his siblings with him. And despite the inevitable arguing that was bound to occur, he was thankful. It was better than the dark world. Better than the past couple of years where he had been hunting on his own. He did not mind being alone, but being with family was better.

“Here you are Cassie.” Gabriel said, as he and Michael helped him to sit on the bed. “Now we’ll just get you a hot nurse and everything will be all better.”

“I do not believe the temperature of the nurse matters in the ability to confirm my health.” Castiel replied, watching as Gabriel backed away with a grimace.

“You’re starting to sound like a stick in the mud. Like Mike here.” Gabriel said, looking over at Hazel, “I think we failed him.”

“Castiel is respectful, unlike you.” Michael said, tone unamused. He glared at Gabriel and Castiel glanced at Hazel for help, feeling an argument brewing.

“Ok, back off and go fight over there.” Hazel pushed between the two, moving to Castiel’s side. “I’ll check him over and make sure he’s fine.” She smiled at Castiel as the other two moved away. “Now, let’s make sure you’re not hurt.”

Castiel sat quietly as she went through the basic medical checks their dad had taught them. First for a concussion, shining a light in his eyes and making him follow her finder with his eyes. Then checking for bruises or bumps on his head. After that she checked for any wounds, and would have checked for infection if there had been any. The final check was for broken bones or sprains. She had him move his arms and legs every which way before nodding.

“Nothing wrong.” She smiled, giving him a hug. It was a tight hug, one Castiel knew came from relief and the joy of seeing a loved one after a while. “Glad you’re alright Cass.”

“I am glad as well. Thank you for checking.” Castiel said, meaning every word. He knew he had no injuries, after all they had done a check in the tunnels before even moving him. “Are you doing alright as well?”

“Good as can be.” Hazel answered, “A little bruised from a particularly rough ghoul the other week. But it’s healing.”

“That is good to hear.”

“Good except she would have never been injured if she hadn’t insisted on racing to see who could complete the hunt first.” Gabriel added, joining them by jumping up on the bed before falling to sit next to him. “Which was foolish since we all know I’m the better hunter.”

“Are not.” Hazel shot back, smiling. Her eyes held Gabriels for a long moment and Castiel could tell something had passed between their bond. Something that neither he nor Michael would be privy to unless they chose to share. Which he didn’t mind, but he knew Michael would if he had seen it. He always cared.

“I wish you two would take hunting more serious. It’s not a game. It’s life and death out there.” Michael joined them, starting to lecture until Hazel poked his arm. A subtle friendly threat telling him to stop.

“The most important thing is that we’re alright. Right?” Hazel insisted, wrapping an arm around Michael’s shoulders, forcing him to duck down to her level. Being no taller than her twin, made them the shortest members of their family. Even their half brother Samandriel had surpassed them by an inch or two. It was a sore point for Gabriel, but Hazel wielded it like a weapon. Showing just how different the two could be.

Normally they were as similar as can be. Both had a love of trouble. In fact, there father had always referred to them as his “little terrors”; since they were constantly causing mayhem wherever they went. They had a love mischief that knew no bounds. There was never a day where someone wasn’t the victim of their pranks as they grew up. If it wasn’t dumping some unknown things on one of their siblings or messing with their stuff; it was causing fights. 

Many of the fights between Michael and Luke had escalated or been started by one twin or the other.

The differences were visible in the small things. Hazel was quicker to hand out a warm smile and hug. More willing to rise to responsibility when the situation called for it. Less likely to forgive a transgression by anyone. Less likely to trust. Always analyzing everyone and everything. She was their surrogate mother and sister all contained in a small feisty package.

Gabriel was the one who made friends easier, lighting up every room he entered. Ever the life of the party; he was always up for a good time. He found the fun in everything and created a reprieve from the darkness of their lives with jokes and crazy antics. But it wasn’t all fun and games. Gabriel was quicker to shoot or throw the first punch. More willing to dirty his hands so other’s didn't have too.

Then there was the things they shared, the traits that made them a fearsome team. Like their love of justice. Both hated to see the little guy loose. Bullies, cheaters, anyone who took advantage of another person was on their bad side. Gabriel would get even, making them suffer what they dished out in an escalating fashion. Hazel would take the fight to them, weakening them or powering up those they pushed down. To them, things being unfair was something they had to straighten out.

Or the fact that both loved their family with everything they had. They loved it so much that when things began to fall apart after their father had died they had run. Run to escape the new reality that had taken over. Run to escape the never ending fighting between everyone. And it wasn’t just Michael and Luke. It had spread outward, drawing in and pulling apart the Shurleys, the Miltons, and even the Edlunds it had reached so far. Everyone had taken a side except for the twins.

And himself. Castiel didn’t want to take a side either. He wasn’t with Michael because he was on Michael’s side. He was with Michael because when Gabriel and Hazel had left, they hadn’t taken him. He wasn’t bitter about it. At sixteen neither of them could have taken care of a thirteen year-old on their own. Not while moving around and hunting. They had made the right choice and everytime they had visited they had expressed the guilt they felt over that matter.

“Of course that’s what matters.” Michael finally answered after extracting himself from Hazel’s arm and rubbing his neck. “Family first and foremost. Just like Dad taught us.”

“Right.” Gabriel answered, “We stick together no matter what.” His voice was slightly bitter and Castiel prepared for another fight.

Michael’s phone went off before he could answer however and he sighed, “Its’ Anna, gotta take this.” He hit the button and made his way to the door, talking the whole way.

“Well, that was good timing.” Hazel said, throwing a glare at Gabriel. “Don’t rile him up everytime I calm him down. I’d rather have him in a good mood.”

“I can’t help it. He’s just so…..annoying.” Gabriel shrugged, mischievous smile on his face, “You can’t stand that whole righteous, “i’m-the-perfect-son” routine either.”

“Right, but I can act like an adult.” Hazel shot back, frowning as Gabriel’s smile deepened. “Really, using that against me?”

“Of course.” Gabriel responded and laughed. “It’s the perfect fodder.”

Castiel looked between them confused, “Not that I mind the silent twin communication...but I am feeling a bit left out at the moment.”

“Whoops. Sorry Cass. It’s not really that funny”

“No, it’s hilarious. Let me explain.” Gabriel clapped his hands together and rubbed them like a movie villain. “This the story of how our wonder, ‘adult’ sister was totally not an adult. So Michael was trying to get us to come back after he found us the first time after we left. We were all in this little motel room in the shadiest part of the backwoods you can find. He had us sit at the table and was lecturing is on the importance of the mission dad left for us, and our blatant disregard for his final wishes. Telling us that by running off we were dishonoring him because our dad put him in charge and that he wanted us to listen to Mikey.” Gabriel waved his hand dismissively, almost hitting Castiel in the process. “And he’s just going on and on like he normally does. For once, I was letting him talk. Hazel had explain that if he found us we need to prove we’re adults and could handle ourselves in the world. So I was following her advice and letting him get it out of his system so we could talk peacefully, when all of a sudden Hazel takes this cup of water she had on the table and just dumps it on his head. And she says, “You’re not the boss of me.”” Gabriel laughed, “She went and dumped water on his head. Real adult like.”

“Gabriel, we were sixteen back then. Not exactly adults.” Hazel explained, “So it’s not that bad. I’ve gotten better.”

“That’s not the only time through. Remember when you started the food fight on that hospital job?”  
“That was a distraction.”

“Or that time you pranked the officer guarding the abandoned courthouse during that ghost job. And you signed it? Almost getting us caught before we could skip town?”

“He deserved it. That was no way to treat a lady.” Hazel argued, red coloring her cheeks with her embarrassment as Gabriel proved his point. “And we got away.”

“Barely.” Gabriel smirked, clearly aware he was winning the argument. “Face it, you’re no more an adult that I am.”

“Am so.” Hazel respond, making Castiel laugh at the childish reply. Hazel gave him a reproachful and he stopped laughing to smile at her.

“Gabriel, despite the fact that at the moment Hazel is having difficulty proving her own point, she does tend to show more ‘adult’ tendencies than you do on a regular basis.”

“Thanks Cass.”

“Not fair, you can’t take her side.” Gabriel started to argue, but broke down laughing at his own response. “Guess that might be a little true.”

“What might be true?” Michael asked, reentering the room. Seeing Hazel wave off the topic dismissively he let it go and continued on. “It seems Anna was helping Raphael with a hunt and something weird happened. I’m going to go help them out. Can you two get yourselves and Castiel back to the house? I’ll meet you there and we can talk more about you two coming back.”

“We never sai-” Gabriel began but Hazel cut him off.

“You go and help them. We’ve got Cass.” She said, moving over to steer Michael away from Gabriel. “Let’s get you packed up and on your way.”

Michael nodded his thanks, moving about the room and grabbing his stuff. Hazel helped, him, packing things neatly into the bag. Gabriel frowned from his seat next to Castiel and didn’t move. He seemed relaxed, but Castiel could see the hard set of his jaw and shoulders that said otherwise.

A couple of minutes later Michael was at the door, bags ready and in his hands. He looked over at Castiel and Gabriel, before turning to Hazel. “Take care. I’ll see you.”

“Of course.” Hazel answer, nudging him out the door. “Go and help out the others. We’ll be fine.” She watched him go, waving until the sound of his car faded.

>0<o>0<

As soon as the sound of Michael’s car faded, Gabriel was up on his feel. Marching over to Hazel with a frown. “What were you thinking? Promising him we’d go back?” He scowled at his twin, making sure she felt his annoyance through the bond.

Hazel met his eyes with her own, her gaze completely calm. “I didn’t.” She answered, moving about to clean up their stuff laying about the room.

“Oh right, ‘cause you stopped me from making sure he knew just that.” Gabriel snapped back, mind in too much turmoil to check what was going through hers. “And then you went and helped him out the door. Like a good little sister.”  _ Traitor. Suckup. _ He sent the words hurtling through the bond, seeing her flinch at each word. Instead of looking guilty like he expected, she sighed and stalked over to him.

“I didn’t promise him anything other then we’d take care of Cass.” Hazel shot back, slamming their weapons bag into his chest. “There’s no way I’m going back to that house.”

“So...you lied?” Gabriel asked, feeling guilty that he had jumped on her case so quickly. If he had taken a moment to calm down he could have just seen her ruse through their bond, instead of jumping to conclusions in the heat of the moment.

“No, I omitted certain details.” Hazel smirked, pride and mischief coloring the bond. “I promised we’d take care of Cass. Which is what I plan to do. Nowhere safer than with us.”

Gabriel’s smirked mirrored her own as he started to bustle about, grabbing their stuff. “I like the way you think. Almost like we share a brain.”

Hazel rolled her eyes and continued to pack away their laptops as he made his way around the room. Unlike his clothes which were strewn about everywhich way, their weapons were neatly laid on on the small coffee table by the TV. Their father had taught them to always keep their weapons in perfect working order. It was one of the few lessons Gabriel had excelled at. To him cleaning and prepping each one was soothing and therapeutic in a way. While Hazel or Cass may read a book, or Luke would take a drive around, Gabriel would turn to the weapons to calm himself. Each weapon had a place, a purpose. Iron and salt rounds for the ghosts. Holy water and exorcism for the demons. Silver for shifters, werewolves. Machetes for vampires. Each weapon had a task to perform and they never changed. It was the one thing he could control for sure in the crazy life of a hunter and he the security fixing them up gave him was priceless.

He tucked away the weapons on the table, then ran through his mental checklist of what could still be missing.  _ Knife under the pillow. _ Hazel’s reminder came from the bond and Gabriel threw her a thankful nod as he moved over to the bed where Castiel was sitting. The knife was under the pillow on the opposite side of where their younger brother was sitting, which was good. Since they had forgotten it was there.

Grabbing the knife Gabriel held it up and dramatically wiped imaginary sweat off his brow, wanting to play around with Cass a bit. “Would you look at that. Good thing we didn’t set you on that side of the bed. Could've given you a second hole down there.”

“Second hole?” Castiel asked confused, his grasp of the intricacies of butt humor clearly not having grown while being with Michael. “I do not understand.”

Gabriel sighed, putting the blade away and deciding it was better not to continue to push the joke any further. They’d have enough time to get Cass caught up on all the things a human should know while they hunted.

“Butt humor is not on that list.” Hazel answered his unspoken thought, laughing lightly. “Though I do agree that Cass is lacking in some more of the fundamental human understanding he should have.”

“Am I?” Castiel asked, still looking confused, “I am not aware of anyway my education could be lacking in regards to human behavior.”

“That phrase, right there. That’s proof.” Gabriel told him, trying to be patient. It wasn’t Cass’ fault he hadn’t truly experienced the real world. Anyone who Michael had a hand in raising was far too sheltered for their own good. “You sound more like a robot than a human.”

“What Gabriel’s saying is that you haven’t gotten out in the world outside of hunting really.” Hazel explained, “So you’ve missed out on some of the intricacies and colloquisams of everyday speech.”

“I had not realized that.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll pick it up fast enough once you get some exposure to it.” Hazel said, then frowned. “That is if you’d like to come with us. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Castiel watched her carefully, not sure if he should speak just yet. Of course he wanted to go with them. He had wanted to go with them when they had left the first time. But that didn’t mean he should. If he left, that meant Michael would be alone. He would be running off just like Gabriel and Hazel had done. Was that something he could do to Michael? Could he leave Michael like Gabriel and Hazel had left him? If he did leave, could he live with the fact that he had done that to Michael? It was a troubling thought; but more troubling was the answer.

“I think I would like to go with you.” Castiel said slowly, “But I don’t want to just leave Michael on his own. So I would like to go occasionally visit. If Michael is willing to let me visit and help out.”

“Don't bet on it.” Gabriel mutter, but Hazel jumped in and spoke over him. “That’s fine.” she said, smiling and hugging him. “I can’t say we’ll join you, but we’ll make sure to stop in now and then for you.”

Castiel smiled, glad he could lessen a bit of his guilt. Michael wasn’t always the nicest person to him, but that didn’t mean he deserved to be alone.  _ Not that he is truly alone. He has Anna and Raphael. And the other families that come to visit and work with him. _ Castiel reminded himself and wrapped an arm around Hazel in return.  _ It is not like I am leaving him forever. _

>0<o>0<

The house was dark when Michael parked his car in the driveway and he felt his stomach twist. Deep down he hadn’t been expecting much from Hazel or Gabriel, but Castiel he had faith in.  _ Maybe he’s asleep. _ The suggestion floated through his mind, trying to give him hope. But he knew better. Castiel normally left a light on, so that any hunters or family stopping by knew there was someone there.

“Damn it.” He got out of the car, grabbing his bag and a his keys. Unlocking the door he stepped inside, listening to utter silence in the house. “Bastards went and talked him into staying with them.” He scowled.

“Well, Castiel had always wanted to go with them.” Anna said from behind him, flipping on the hall light as she entered. “So it shouldn’t shock you that much. He never stopped asking about them and they’d always call for his birthday.”

“He’s better then they are though.” Michael insisted, moving further into the house and slamming his bag down on the kitchen counter. “I trained him to be a better soldier.”

“Sometimes they don’t turn out right.” Anna suggested, putting her bag down much gentler and moving over to check the fridge. “I mean, look at Luke. At least they’re only out hunting on their own. They could all be worse.”

Michael sighed, thoughts of his second brother sobering him up quick. They had always been taught that family came first, but for him, Luke made that rule impossible to follow. Not only had he run off, he had begun a war. He incited a war amongst their family by trying to claim the right to be the family head. Which belonged to Michael himself. It was his right as the eldest. The first born to their father. No one was better suited than he was. He had always been the best. Their father’s perfect soldier.

“That may be so, but I’m not going to let them wander around forever. For now Castiel can stay and travel with them. Maybe learn something useful from them. And then, when things go bad they’ll come crawling back.”

“If they last that long.” Anna frowned, pulling some ingredients out of the fridge to make dinner. “You said it yourself after the hunt. Something fishy is going on…I mean, those demons knew our names..among other things. Even Luke would never have given them some of the info they had. Something bad is going on and if they get drawn into it, it could end badly.”

Michael nodded, face growing grave. He didn’t want to think about what the weird things going on. Not only were there demons out in unusually large numbers, they were also coming directly after their family. And not just the Novaks, all the hunter families were being targeted. And they didn’t know why. Normally he’d blame Luke, but from what Anna had learned from Raphael, his brother Uriel had been talking about how the demons had even gone after Luke on an occasion or two. And he was willing to work with them, which meant it was something more important than losing a hunter ally. Something Michael feared was much darker than they had ever dealt with before. Sighing over the dark thoughts, Michael watched as Anna went about making them some dinner. “Hopefully they come around and come home before that happens.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be updating tags as a I go along. At the moment nothing more than some regular Supernatural violence will occur, but that may change depending on things evolve. The start of this will be family bonding and unveiling exactly what is going on. So expect a bit of a slow ride.
> 
> Thank you for everyone reading. I hope you enjoy it.


	4. The Good and Bad of Being Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel experiences working with Gabriel and Hazel on one of their first hunts back together. It'll take some getting used to, especially with the emotional edge that comes with everything they have been through so far, but their Novaks and that means no matter what happens they keep on going.

Hazel stepped out of the Impala, stretching to loosen her muscles. Driving was fun, but with how far they had to travel some days it could be a real pain. That was the life of a hunter though, and she knew a decent rest would take care of any lingering aches and pains. It was something their father had always pressed upon them. Even just an hour of sleep could mean the difference between life and death.

Of course, that wasn’t the only thing their dad had taught them. Hazel mused, reaching back inside the car she pulled out the bag of greasy diner food and drink tray, making sure they were secure. When she was little she hadn’t realized how quickly grease could ruin the bottom and had picked up a bag only to have it spill on the floor. Luke and Gabriel had laughed at her, and Mike had sighed in disappointment. Their father had watched passively then announced that they would be skipping dinner. He explained the importance of making sure you were careful with food and money. It had been a lesson on being careful and always taking care of what you owned, whether that was a lot or a little. One she had never forgotten.

Shaking herself from the memories, Hazel made her way to their room, juggling the bag while she opened the door. “Im back.” She called, closing the door and locking it behind her. “Got food.”

“My salvation!” Gabriel cried, dashing over from the couch where he had been watching TV. He grabbed the bag and carried it over to the table before setting it down and rummaging through it. “My double bacon chili cheeseburger.” He smiled and sat down to unwrap it.

“And your chocolate peanut butter with M&M’s and cookie dough pieces shake.” Hazel set the drink down in front of him and set down the drink tray.

Gabriel’s eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas and he paused his inhalation of his burger to take a sip. “Sweet, sweet perfection.”

“Sure.” Hazel rolled her eyes, taking out her own order as well as Cass’. “Coming Cass?”

Cass looked up from his place on the bed with his laptop and nodded. “I will be over shortly. I just need to finish this email to Carlos. He needed a few more details to help us figure out what we’re hunting.” He focused his attention back on the screen and began typing once again.

“Cassie’s been at it all morning.” Gabriel said, mouth full of food. Hazel scowled, but knew if she mentioned it he’d only do it more. Manners were not her brother’s strong suit. “He’s been all work and no play. Rather dull.”

“Wasting time will only lead to more deaths.” Castiel said, “We need to figure out what’s killing people in this town so we can find it and deal with it.”

“Doesn’t mean you need to email every hunter contact we have to see if we can find any info. Just post it to one of those secret message boards Balthazar set up and check back in an hour.” Gabriel explained, trying to steal a fry off Hazel’s plate.

Smacking away her twin’s hand, Hazel sipped at her soda. “Your work ethic is admirable Cass, but you should really come eat. We didn’t get much of a breakfast thanks to someone ‘spilling’ hot sauce all over it.” She glared at Gabriel who smiled cheekily. She knew the look, she often wore it with him when they pulled pranks together. It was the innocent, “I can’t help myself” look that would either endear them to or add an enemy to an ever growing list.

Castiel sighed and nodded, making a few more keystrokes before setting the laptop aside and making his way over to the table. “It was not my attention to skip lunch. The message board is fine for information, which is how I knew Carlos had some information for us about this hunt. I figured emailing him would only help us.”

“Makes sense Cass.” Hazel smiled, passing him his burger. “Regular burger. Normal fixings. Wheat bun.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” He unwrapped his burger and bit into it with a smile.

Happy both of her brothers were eating Hazel turned back to her own grilled chicken sandwich and continued to eat. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face despite trying. It had been years since she had sat down to anything that resembled a family meal and she had missed it. It wasn’t fancy and it wasn’t everyone, but it was a good change. Gabriel and her never really sat down together to eat unless they were at a diner. Which wasn’t the same. The last time she could remember sitting down to any sort of family dinner was the night they had made the decision to leave. 

Back at their childhood home (or  _ Casa de Novak _ as Gabriel had called it) family dinner nights were a common thing. Whoever was home; be it Novak, Shurley, Edlund, Milton, or any other hunter who was visiting, you were expected to gather around the table for dinner. It was their mother’s rule. One that was kept up after her death to honor her memory. Their father insisted on it, so much that they continued it even after they started traveling with him for hunts. During that time the house remained cold and empty, but the family dinners continued wherever they went.

That last night, it had just been Michael, Gabriel, Castiel and herself. Just the Novaks, minus Luke who had run off a couple of months before. The four of them had gathered around the table for dinner and the atmosphere was tense. It had been ever since the fighting began, but that day it had been different.

Hazel had always thought of it like a wound that had scabbed over, beginning to bleed once again. And all that tension bleeding through had set them on edge. Castiel had grown quiet and withdrawn, old enough to understand what was going on but too young to truly comprehend. Gabriel was torn between being broken-hearted at Luke’s leaving and anger at his betrayal. He had been confused at how to feel about it and his jokes had taken on a sharp bitter edge. Hazel herself had spent more time sitting around aimlessly or baking away her feelings in over sweetened goodies. Michael’s reaction had been the worst and what Hazel identified as the final straw. Gone was the loving but strict brother. In his place there were words laces with suppressed fury. A fury he had turned on them without realizing it. 

Michael and Luke had always fought, but they had also always been close. No matter how much they fought, they were still siblings. But something had changed since their father died. The bond between them had broken. Broken and become a twisted, mutated virus that had started to turn them against each other. It’d created a fury burning in each of them that never stopped A fury that had turned them against each other.

Sitting down at the table no one had spoken, the tension hanging in the air. Hazel had laid out their meal, an old casserole recipe of their mother’s they had all loved. It was simple to make and had never failed to bring happy smiles to their faces. Her own attempt to try and lighten the atmosphere. It had seemed to work in her favor for a while. Gabriel had been more like his joyful self. Cracking jokes and launching into an animated discussion about the latest episode of his favorite TV show,  _ Dr Sexy M.D. _ . Castiel had listened entertained, asking questions whenever Gabriel got too carried away in his retelling. Hazel had made sure to throw cautionary glares his way whenever she felt the topic was too old for him. Everything had been going good.

Then Michael had spoken. His voice had been soft but harsh. Barely above the level of talking yet it had felt like he was using a bullhorn. He began with a simple question, one that shifted the mood 180 degrees. It wasn’t a hard question, nor was it particularly shocking to come from Michael, but it changed their whole relationship in one moment. No longer was he the slightly uptight, do-good brother. Now he was judge, jury, and executioner condemning them to a death only he saw as right. Condemning them with four harmless words. “What are you doing?” It encompassed everything Michael thought of them and created a rift that Hazel wasn’t sure could ever be fixed.

One simple question and he accused them of not taking things seriously. One breath he accused them of being bad hunters and dishonoring the memory of their father. Questioned their loyalty to their family. Named them as dirty of scum as the monsters they hunted. Four simple words that in any other moment; said with any other voice couldn’t cause as much damage as they did.

All it took was that one question and since then their relationship had become rocky, all of them dancing on eggshells at its best; apocalyptic at its worst. It had destroyed any chance Hazel could see of them all sitting down for a family dinner again. A thought filled with a finality she didn’t want to acknowledge. A thought she would never say allowed to keep from making it a reality.

“Hazel, is something wrong with your sandwich?” Castiel asked, pulling her out of her thoughts. Her sandwich was in her hand, uneaten and starting to cool off.

“No, just got distracted by a thought.” She smiled, not wanting to worry him or Gabriel who was also staring at her with slight concern. Turning aside his query through the bond, she went back to eating her food.

“Must’ve been rather profound to distract you from food.” Gabriel said, clearly pouting at being shut out from her thoughts.

“Not really. Just needed the extra brain power to get through it.” She took a sip of her soda. “I was trying to figure out who’d win in a fight between a shifter and a ghoul.” She lied, watching as Gabriel’s eyes lit up with a challenge. Placing the supernatural creatures they hunted in fictional cage matches was one of their more fun past times. They usually reserved it for long drives, but Hazel knew it would distract him from prying any further.

“Totally calling a shifter. They would just keep changing and confuse the ghoul easy-peasey.”

Hazel shook her head. “If it was a cage match, the shifter wouldn’t have anywhere to hide and change. I’m going with ghoul.”

“You never said there was an actual physical cage.” Gabriel argued back and Hazel noticed Castiel smile as he cleaned up the wrappers from their meal. He seemed amused by their arguing and she counted that as a bonus for her quick distraction as Gabriel continued. “There never was one in any other match.”

Hazel shrugged, finishing off her sandwich and balling up the wrapper. Feigning indifference she chucked it into the bin and put her feet up on the table. “Never said there couldn’t be one. Would you like to change your choice now? Not that it matters. You’ll lose either way.”

“No, I don’t want to change. I’m sticking with it.” Gabriel snapped back, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. “You’re not tricking me into picking the wrong side. I’ve pulled the same schtick often enough myself.”

“If that’s what you think, go right ahead. But either way the ghoul would win.”

“No, it wouldn’t.”

“It totally would.”

“No.”

“Totally.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No. And that’s final. The shifter would win. They’re smarter.” Gabriel snapped, sticking out his tongue.”

______________

Frustrated didn’t even begin to cover Gabriel’s mood as he ran down the hall with his twin. Not only had they not managed to save the victim, they had lost their only weapon to kill the damn thing.  _ Remind me to buy  _ _ two _ _ crossbows next time we go shopping. _ He shot the thought at Hazel, slipping and sliding around the corner into another hallway. Why did offices have so many damn hallways?

Hazel didn’t reply to his remarks, but Gabriel picked up on a faint impression of her eye roll as they made it through the double doors at the end of the hall. Together they slid to a stop and slammed them shut. She threw home the bolt while he grabbed something to brace it against the door. They worked in perfect sync. Something they had perfected from years of hunting together. It helped that they could read each other’s intention through the bond, but Gabriel liked to think even without that they would have been fine. Afterall, that’s what their father had trained them for. To be the perfect hunters.

“We need a new game plan.” Hazel said, catching her breath. “We have to lead it to Cass. He’s got the other crossbow.” Her fingers were flying across her phone screen, texting Cass even as she explained the plan to him. “We lead Mr. Antoney through the building to the main doors. That hallway was the straightest point in the entire place. Cass lines up the shot and shoots as soon as we duck clear of the doors. There’s no way Mr. Antoney could dodge or manage to sneak up on him and break the other crossbow.”

“Mr. Antoney? That’s not a person Sis. Not anymore. Shredding people to bits and eating their hearts isn’t ‘people’ behavior. It’s werewolf.” Gabriel snapped back as a slam and howl from down the closed door hallway indicated the werewolf had found their trail. He wasn’t actually completely sold on the fault of everything being on Mr. Antoney. He hadn’t asked to become a werewolf. That fault could be attributed to the guy’s ex-wife. She apparently couldn’t handle his trips to the bar every weekend and skipped AA to go straight to the cursing. ‘Cause that made sense. So it wasn’t the guys fault that he turned into a crazy, man-eating werewolf and managed to somehow get the drop on Gabriel himself and breaking his favorite (and by that he meant newest) crossbow.

“He’s a hexenwulf.” Hazel corrected on instinct, sighing. “And we don’t have choice. We’ve barely got a lead on him as it is. I’d really rather not become it’s dinner.” She moved through the rows of cubicles towards the door that would lead to the main doors for the building. Her brisk manner reminded him of their Dad, or Michael, and Gabriel suppressed a shudder. “Let’s get moving.”

_ Clearly not allowed an argument. _ Gabriel half thought/half sent the comment through their bond as he followed behind. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her plan or Cass’ skills in getting the job done. Afterall, Cass had been trained the same way they had. Most likely his time had been even stricter with Michael at the helm. So it had nothing to with Cass’ skills. Just that he was their baby brother. No matter how much he grew or how old he was, Gabriel couldn’t deny his family instinct to protect him. Afterall, that was one of the top family rules: “Always protect your family, no matter what.”

And a little of it was from working with another hunter other than Hazel. Sometimes Balthazar would join them, or they’d bump into other hunters while working; but usually it was just them. Which worked perfect. Afterall no one could read him as well as she did. It was a lot easier to work with someone when they  were you.

Following after her, Gabreil picked up the pace, the thud on the door behind them the perfect motivator. Together they took off at the thuds changed and grew to a tremendous crash as the doors burst open. An echo of metal ringing as it smacked the wall followed them Apparently the barricade hadn’t been very good. Which gave them less time than planned to get to the ambush point where Cass would hopefully be ready to take the shot.

_ And not miss. _ Gabriel thought, feeling a little guilty. Cass didn’t deserve his distrust, but he wasn’t very keen on becoming the Hexenwulf’s next meal.

\----------------------------------

Castiel wiped his hands off on his pants for the third time, trying to calm himself down. His nerves were unfounded and the situation should not have been affecting him like it was currently doing. He had been trained to this from birth. After all, that’s what their family did. Hunted the evil that went bump in the night preying upon innocents. They spent their entire lives training to save people, or as Gabriel called it, “the family business”. It was all they knew.

Which is why he shouldn’t be nervous. He had been training for this since he was young. 

He had been in far more dangerous situations than he currently was. His third solo hunt had been against a couple of ghouls who had managed to sink the floor right underneath his feet into the old mosulem they called home. He hadn’t panicked anywhere half as bad as he was now. Rather, covered in dust he had just moved forward. Taking care of the ghouls in the practiced manner of a soldier, as Michael had taught him.

Of course, that had been when he was on his own. There was a difference between your own life being in danger and the lives of those you love. He was all set up for the shot, using a nearby dumpster to rest his arms on with the crossbow. He was particularly accurate with his shots as well, so he shouldn’t be worried about missing. Hazel and Gabriel were going to lead the Hexenwulf down the exit hallway which would limit its ability to dodge the shot. All he needed was to aim and shoot. SImple and efficient.

Except for the fact that if he missed, Hazel or Gabriel would pay the consequences. If he shot too early he risked hitting one of them. Shoot too late and the Hexenwulf would be upon them and it did not need much more that couple of seconds. They had been only feet behind Mr. Antoney and his friend when they left the bar. At most it been 10 feet behind the two. More than close enough to have been spotted if either of the men had been in any condition to notice them. They had followed the two towards the parking structure where Mr. Antoney’s car was parked and as the two turned the corner there had been a shout. A quick dash around the corner had led them to the body of Mr. Antoney’s friend and the shape of the Hexenwulf vanishing into the under-construction office building he now sat just outside of.

The exact office building he was sitting outside to focus and make a very important shot. Castiel reminded himself, focusing back on the task at hand. Only seconds could have passed in his musing, but that was enough to have caused a mistake. Michael had taught him better than that. He realigned his shot the few millimeters he would need, training the crossbow site back into the middle of the dark hallway before him. Deep breath. Focus. Listen. That was what he needed to do now, so that’s what he focused his brain on doing. Loosening his finger on the crossbow’s trigger he took a breath and settled into the shot, waiting.

It felt like forever before Castiel heard the rustling of movement from the dark hall. Seconds later faded lights bobbed about as Hazel and Gabriel came dashing down the hall. Echoes of their footsteps and breath chased them down the hallway as well as the sound of the Hexenwulf right behind them. Crashes and the skittering of claws indicated it’s speed had picked up and Castiel took one more deep breath and sighted down the crossbow. As soon as his siblings were clear, he would shoot. Before the Hexenwulf even made it out of the hallway.

The shadows in the hallway grew more defined and Castiel could make out slight features in the bobbing lights. They were moving fast and approaching the exit quickly. Step by step they moved, the Hexenwulf clearly gaining on them with every step. He was only going to get one shot. He had seconds to pick his moment.

Four seconds.

Three. Hazel and Gabe finally hit the slight patch of moonlight entering from the doorway. Castiel shifted his finger slightly.

Two. They hit the doorway and the Hexenwulf became visible reaching out. Eyes glowing as they reflected the moonlight.

One. He tensed his finger ready to shoot as Hazel and Gabe dove to the sides of the doorway.

Green flashed in his vision and he froze..  _ Moonlight. _ The thought snuck up on him and Castiel felt as if time slowed down.  _ Wait till it’s in the moonlight. _

Unsure of where the thought came from Castiel felt himself pause long enough for Gabriel to shout something his way and catch the Hexenwulf’s attention completely. It turned towards him and readied itself to spring, taking that final step out into the complete light. Castiel pulled the trigger. The shot flew true, striking the beast in mid-charge. It collapsed as did Gabriel beneath it.

\---------------------------

“Shoot!” Gabriel shouted, cursing mentally as it seemed Castiel had frozen. Not the smartest move seeing as the Hexenwulf turned towards him. It’s yellow animal eyes bore into his gaze and he felt his flight response kick into high gear. Too bad he was already tapped out from their frantic dash down the hall. The hexenwulf’s muscles bunched and Gabriel closed his eyes as he tried to dive out of the way.

_ Thwack.  _ Then immense weight was all Gabriel knew until he opened his eyes and heard two voices shout his name. Feeling the weight crushing him start to fade as the Hexenwulf changed back into Mr. Antoney. “Fine.” he coughed and she struggled out from under the body. Not the easiest feat, but once Cass arrived to help lift the body off him it went smoother.

“Nice shot Cass. How’d you figure out it had to be in the moonlight for the shot to work?” Hazel asked, clearly having put something together that Gabriel hadn’t. Not that he couldn’t figure it out from her thoughts, but he was a little more focused on catching his breath.

“Something told me to wait.” Castiel looked confused, frowning. “Maybe it was something I had read in the research or something.” He didn’t look convinced completely but he shrugged it off. “But I’m glad I did. Otherwise it wouldn’t have worked.”

“And I’d be dead meat.” Gabriel finished, smiling jokingly, “Until you explained it I was gonna get on your case and yell like Mikey saying you needed more training. Assuming you had frozen.”

Castiel gave him a frosty glare, “I would not freeze. I was nervous about the shot seeing as I was working with people I care about, but I would have still made the shot.” Clearly he didn’t even like Gabriel joking about any possible lack of skill. Michael may have taught him 

_ Might just be the feeling of the lack of trust.  _ Hazel’s voice added and Gabriel knew that sounded much more like Cass. He wasn’t Michael, too proud of his skills to ever take any criticism or correction. Nor was he Luke, too arrogant in his assurance of his own skills to ever admit he could be wrong. Cass was just a hard worker striving to do what good he could in the world and for his family.

“Sorry Cassie.” Gabriel said, using the nickname to get an eye roll and lighten the mood a bit. “I know you’re better than that. Your shooting skills are better than Mikey’s for sure.”

“But not better than yours.” Castiel said honestly, making Gabriel smirk. 

Of course none of his siblings could beat him. Any of the weapons they used he had worked harder and longer than anyone else. Plus he had some natural talent like their mom, which worked in his favor.

“Don’t feed his ego or his head will be too big to get into the Impala..” Hazel scoffed, checking over Mr. Antoney to make sure he was dead. She pulls out the bolt checking it over to see if it’s reusable. “Let’s get this cleaned up and get going. Stop at a bar and have a celebratory drink.”

“Or two, three, four…” Gabriel added with a smirk as he headed back to the impala parked at the end of the alleyway to grab the tarp they use for bodies. That way they could carry the bodies easier and keep the trunk a lot cleaner.

Cass shook his head at Gabriel as Hazel laughed and wiped the bolt off on Mr. Antoney’s clothes. As a group they went about their tasks, the clean up efficient and quick. Gabriel and Cass worked on getting the body onto the tarp while Hazel stowed their weapons and set up the trunk. After that she took a quick look around the hallway and nearby areas of their chase to make sure they hadn’t left anything behind. After that they all wrapped up the body and hoisted it into the trunk and closed it up. They then got into the impala and were off.

Hazel was behind the wheel and directed the car out of the warehouse alley and back onto the road. Moments later she merged into traffic on the highway towards the outskirts of town. Gabriel would have prefered to head directly to the bar and ignore the body until tomorrow, but he could tell his twin was set on burning the body right away.

“I’m not leaving a body in the trunk again. Not after last time. It took weeks to get all the blood out.” Hazel threw a glare at him, throwing in her thoughts just for him.  _ Not to mention the time you and Balthazar helped Alexander clean up that multi-zombie hunt. _

“I know, I know.” Gabriel sighed, glancing back at Cass who was starting out the window. He almost seemed to be pouting like he had when he was a kid.  _ He is. _ Hazel’s comment reminded him of his earlier slight to Castiel’s abilities when he was high in fear and adrenaline. Knowing he had to fix this or the trip to the bar would suck. Turning in his seat Gabriel looked at Castiel until he caught his attention. “Did I ever tell you about the time Balto and I almost got caught by the cops?”

“No.” Castiel answered, frowning. “But I do remember Michael shouting at Balthazar when he stopped by a couple of years ago. When he dropped off the extended collection of my Mythic Beats of the Celtic Region birthday gift from you guys. Something about letting him rot in prison to teach him a lesson or something.”

Gabriel chuckled, “Yah, that would have been what it was about. But the story itself is way better. You see, we had run into a fellow hunter, Alexander. Michael’s not a fan of him, he’s sort of a wildman. All rugged, no class. And he had some trouble with a zombie hunt which turned out to be three undead baddies, not one.” He launched into the story, embellishing just a little to keep it even more entertaining than the story was on it’s own. Hazel laughed along at the funny parts and threw in her two cents every now and then. Castiel’s pouting atmosphere faded away quickly as he listened and Gabriel mentally breathed a sigh of relief.

_ Nice save. _ Hazel’s voice offered. She turned the Impala down a particularly dark side highway towards a collection of trees. She slowed her speed and maneuvered off the road onto a service road, flipping the lights off once they had rounded a bend and were hidden from the road. Parking, she turned off the Impala and glanced back at Castiel and then back to him. “Alright guys, ready? We’ll take turns on who’s digging and who’s keeping an eye out on the room.”

“Sounds good. I’ll start on the first digging shift. Cassie can join me.” Gabriel offered, seeing a smile and eye roll from his twin at his comment. He climbed out of the car and went to the trunk. He grabbed the shovels and passed one to Castiel who joined him. “Here you are little brother. Now let’s get this brotherly-bonding out of the way so we can get to the more fun version.”

Castiel took the shovel and raised an eyebrow, “I’m not sure I want to experience this ‘more fun’ version after all the stories you’ve been sharing about what you get up to anytime alcohol is involved.”

“Come on Cassie, that’s just the extravagant times. Normally nothing that adventurous happens.” Gabriel exclaimed, raising his hands and in turn the shovel in a defensive shrug. He led the way over to a good spot and started to dig. “I promise. We’re just gonna go have a drink…or two. And maybe grab some extra cash if there’s a pool table. And we could always get lucky and find a ‘date’ for the evening.”

“Less talking, more working if you want any chance to get a ‘date’.” Hazel chided with an eyeroll. She was leaning against the tailgate of the Impala, eyes on the road through the trees. “And you may have better luck at that biker bar on the opposite end of town.”

“You mean you’d have better luck.” Gabriel snickered, glancing over at her then back at Castiel. “Hazel has a thing for the rough and tough type. She’ll always push for a biker bar if there’s one in town.”

“I do not.” Hazel scowled, moving over to take the shovel from Gabriel. “I’ll admit biker bars have bigger takes and I spend a lot less money on drinks since I get mine bought for me. Which is nice when it balances out all the money you and Balthazar drop on the bar bimbos you pick up.”

“I”m not sure how much either of these conversation points have any validity.” Castiel spoke up, looking between them with an eyebrow raised as he paused in his shoveling. “Yesterday Gabriel was saying Hazel has a ‘thing’ for nerds and Hazel was saying something about having to clear the word librarian from the computer search history multiple types a week. Which, by the way, I truly didn’t want to know about my brother.”

Gabriel sputtered, laughing at Castiel’s frank way of saying it and the way the grimace on his face made him look so scared for life. “Sorry Cassie, but we’re just teasing each other. Good natured ribbing between siblings. Completely normal.” 

“I am pretty sure normal siblings do not banter while they’re burying a dead body.” Castiel added. “In fact I’m pretty sure it’s not normal for siblings to be burying bodies together.”

Gabriel shrugged, “Normal is overrated anyways. Now let’s get back to digging so we can get to that bar and away from the dead bodies.”

Castiel muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “I never stopped” but Gabriel chose to ignore it. Afterall, he was almost done with his own shift so he could pass it off to Hazel shortly. A couple minutes of shoveling wouldn’t be so bad. 

\------------------------------

Castiel sipped his beer and watched as Hazel and Gabriel went about the bar as if they belonged there. Which wasn’t that far from the truth. Hunters had a tendency to visit bars for many reasons. Sometimes it was to blow off some steam by finding companionship or something to do. They could find info at bars for many types of hunts. You could find some release from a difficult hunt or celebrate a successful one. There were many things about a bar that made it a useful place to be.

Of course one of those reasons was the one Gabriel was currently working on: living expenses. Being a hunter wasn’t a paying job. To help cushion the money they could get from credit card scams; which Michael refused to do and substituted investing instead; most hunters were skilled at sharking. Pool sharking, card sharking, whatever games could be betted on at the bar they excelled in. Castiel himself was a fair shake at it even. Michael had drilled the skills into him as part of training despite his own dislike of the act. But watching Gabriel work Castiel realized his own skills were lacking in comparison.

For once Gabriel wasn’t playing the drunk con game at the pool table, rather he was being the aggressor, calling challengers to try and best him. Which was working well since he was playing against a bunch of hot-headed college kids. All it took was one perfect round against Hazel and then he had everyone’s attention and the money started flowing. Dares and challenges started coming from everywhere and Castiel knew they were going to add a nice amount to their traveling funds.

“Don’t worry. He’ll behave tonight.” Hazel said, sitting down next to him and sliding her empty glass to the bartender who immediately poured another. She had laid down a large tip for him as soon as they had walked in and so far, hadn’t had to wait even a minute to get her next drink.

“I would not be worried normally. However, after the very…colorful story he shared on the ride here I have found myself having second thoughts.” Castiel answered as he sipped his own beer. “Michael always praised his ability to…charm a room.”

Hazel laughed at his words and accepted her next drink with a flirty smile for the bartender as she set the money down. “That’s a nice way of putting it. He’s pretty suave when it comes to charm. Always has been. Mikey never liked it. Gabriel was always the better bluffer. Dad used to take Gabriel to the bar over Michael when we needed extra cash. Really pissed him off.” She sipped at her drink. “Though he’ll tell you something that it’s about it being a stain on the family name to get money that way.”

“He did often say that.” Castiel agreed and nodded. “He explained that’s why he had started trading stocks. That way we had enough money for everything.’

Hazel swirled the drink in her glass, smile fading and Castiel felt a twinge of guilt. He hadn’t meant to sour her good mood. Especially since it was the first time they were all going out and enjoying the evening. 

“Sorry, I did not mean to bring up bad memories.” Castiel sighed, “I was only sharing some things he had done since you had left.”

“It’s not you Cass.” Hazel answered and smiled. She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed briefly. “It’s a sucky situation we couldn’t find a better solution for. Don’t ever think we don’t want to hear anything that happened while we were gone.”

Castiel nodded and turned his attention out the window, listening as Hazel flirted more with the bartender. There was a streetlight directly across the road, but only the one and everything outside of it and the glow from the neon signs was covered in darkness. It cast everything outside of that one spot in darkness. Except for a solitary flash of green.

Pure green.   
Castiel was out of his chair with a muttered “I need some air” to Hazel before he made his way efficiently through the crowd to the door. He’d only ever seen that green once before and he knew it was important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you notice any major spelling or grammar errors. I wrote this a while ago and did a brief edit to get it up so I can continue it. Look forward to more hopefully coming soon.

**Author's Note:**

> I started this story a year or more ago on Fanfiction as a way to get back into writing. Life happened and I put is aside for longer than I wanted. Then I migrated my reading needs over to this site and figured, if I'm going to start this back up why not post it here as well. Share my idea with everyone and see how it goes. That way I feel more driven to write for someone other than myself. I can't promise to update regularly, but that is my plan. I want to get back into the habit of writing everyday since I was never happier than when i was doing so before.


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